Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Andrea Shelby, owner of The KC Juke House, 1700 E. 18th St., Kansas City, in the Historic Jazz District.
Eric Wesson, founder and publisher of The Next Page KC, a newspaper focused on the Black community, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing.
Shelby, a Kansas City native, has operated The KC Juke House for nearly 20 years on 18th Street. In this conversation, she asks the City and the Kansas City Police Department for additional support for independent business owners in the Jazz District.
The District was the site of a fatal shooting on Juneteenth, just after the day’s festivities ended. The incident raised questions about the city’s plan for the safety and security of the area. These same questions have been simmering for years.
Shelby noted that she’s held repeated meetings with the Police Department and the city, in 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017 and more recently, to address the crowds “hanging out” in the area. The question has been how can you help us make these city streets safe? She also reported that the business hires its own security, as well as off-duty Kansas City officers.
Shelby said she’d like to see the police be more present, even walking around the entertainment district. At one point in 2025, the police responded with a wave of towing cars, often the cars of the patrons supporting the independent businesses in the area. Shelby said the “no parking” signs have been removed now, but loitering persists.
Shelby and the business owners have the support of Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Robinson and others. That support fueled the development of the new $8 million pedestrian mall and parking garage, designed to transform the entertainment district in advance of the World Cup.
She said the new pedestrian mall, while lovely, has not produced any increase in foot traffic or business growth. Some have come to see the finished product, but that didn’t necessarily translate into sales. She also said the city didn’t have marketing to attract FIFA World Cup participants to the district, despite its investment in the district.
An organization that worked on FIFA planning, with an $80,000 grant, didn’t include 18th Street businesses, she said. She questioned who benefited from the grant and why the businesses, which would’ve loved to activate events for the World Cup, weren’t invited to the table.
“As a community, we have to learn how to trust one another,” she said.
Also in the conversation, Shelby identifies new businesses in the area, and wants to encourage more – a grocery, ice cream shop, amenities for the neighbors living in the community. She also encourages more participation in the long-range planning for the district, including more participation among and with the independent businesses in the area.
“It could be a great place, we just have to work together to get there,” she said.
Listen to the full conversation: https://youtu.be/oLC-LJ6sytk
